Fox Business host Maria Bartiromo seemed to agree with White House trade adviser Peter Navarro when he whined about the “violence” Democrats did to the U.S. by impeaching “legally elected” Donald Trump.

Although Fox ludicrously describes Bartiromo’s shows as  “hard-hitting journalism,” and “quality journalism,” she clearly signaled her agreement with Navarro that the 2020 presidential election was stolen. That’s not only false and contradicts Fox News reporting, it’s the kind of inflammatory rhetoric that led to the armed insurrection at the Capitol last week.

Even worse, Navarro turned up the flame by suggesting that Democratic lawmakers are the violent ones. Bartiromo seemed fine with that, too. Instead of challenging Navarro, she piled on by whining that her free speech is being “stomped out” because she can’t say the election was fraudulent.

Media Matters caught the conversation this morning:

NAVARRO: I would be remiss by not saying to you, Maria, that what happened yesterday was — was a travesty. That was — the Democratic Party did violence to this country by attacking a president, who I believe was legally elected on November 3rd. If the election were held today, he'd be elected again, and if he runs in 2024, he will be elected then. And I think that's what the Democrats fear.

And I've never been more pissed off in my life at this place, and I think there's 74 million Americans out there who voted for President Trump, who feel exactly the same way. So, I would say that these people on Capitol Hill — knock it off, stop this. Let the man leave peacefully, with his dignity. He was the greatest jobs president, the greatest trade negotiator we've ever had in this history. And this is just wrong, what they're doing.

BARTIROMO: Well, we know that there were irregularities in this election. We know that 70% of Trump voters have said, “We're not buying this election, we think it was rigged.” But get this, you cannot say that on social media. You will get banned —

NAVARRO: You can't say it anywhere, Maria.

BARTIROMO: — If you were say there were irregularities, if you say there was fraud. It's absolutely outrageous. This feels more like Chinese communist — like communist China, than it does America, that they have the ability to stomp out free speech, Peter.

[…]

NAVARRO: This has got to stop. What Congress is doing right now –

BARTIROMO: Yeah.

NAVARRO: - is they’re turning a divide between a 50/50 country into a chasm, OK? And the people of this country, the Trump people, are not going to stand for this.

FACT CHECK: This is not a 50/50 country. As per FiveThirtyEight.com, it’s a 56/39.8 country as far as Trump approval goes and 52.7/41.6 re removing Trump from office.

Media Matters notes this about Navarro’s “election fraud” claims:

Navarro has falsely claimed that that election fraud was perpetrated against Trump in six swing states. Forbes reporter Joe Walsh wrote that a report Navarro released in December “hinges on debunked allegations that have largely been rejected when raised in court,” while Washington Post correspondent Philip Bump bluntly declared, “This might be the most embarrassing document created by a White House staffer.”

As for Bartiromo, her own show ran a half-baked correction, under threat of lawsuit, to some of her election conspiracy theories. But if she really feels so stifled, she could quit her job at Fox and go to work at OANN or Newsmax. But she’d probably have to give up a big paycheck and, apparently, her love for free speech and democracy doesn’t go that deep.

You can see what Fox touts as “quality journalism” below, from Fox Business Network’s January 14, 2021 Mornings with Maria Bartiromo, via Media Matters.